A 14-year-old girl was killed by a lioness outside the Kenyan capital Nairobi when she was snatched at a ranch bordering the southern edge of a national park, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said Sunday.
The animal had entered a residential compound near Nairobi National Park on Saturday night after jumping over a makeshift fence, KWS Senior Corporate Communications Manager Paul Udoto told CNN.
The lioness then entered a house and attacked the girl, who was inside with a second teenager. “There is no evidence of provocation from the victims,” Udoto said.
The second teenager immediately raised the alarm, prompting KWS rangers and emergency teams to respond to the incident. Upon arrival, the team traced bloodstains leading to the Mbagathi River, where the girl’s body was recovered with injuries on her lower back.
Authorities have set a trap and deployed teams to search for the lioness. They are also trying to reinforce security measures, including electric fencing and AI-powered early warning systems to notify communities of nearby animal movements, Udoto said.
In a different incident on Friday, an elephant attacked a 54-year-old man while he was grazing livestock at a forest in Kenya’s Nyeri County. The man sustained chest injuries, fractured ribs and internal trauma, and was declared dead upon arriving at a hospital, KWS said.
The agency added that both attacks underscore a need for “continued investment in human-wildlife conflict mitigation – through strategic interventions, early warning systems, and strengthened collaboration with affected communities.”
KWS teams are still investigating the attacks, but preliminary findings suggest both are “linked to broader ecological pressures and human encroachment on wildlife habitats,” Udoto said.
KWS suspects the lioness was disoriented or diverted from her normal hunting behavior due to a scarcity of prey in her natural range and increasing human activity around the park, Udoto added.
The elephant, meanwhile, attacked the victim after he entered the forest to graze livestock. “It was the human activity that encroached upon the animal’s range, creating conditions for conflict,” Udoto said.
“KWS conveys its heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and continues to work closely with local law enforcement and communities to enhance the safety of people living near protected wildlife areas,” the agency said.
Lion and elephant attacks are considered relatively rare, but they can happen in isolated areas, near national parks and game reserves.
Lion attacks account for less than 2% of all reported incidents involving humans and wildlife, Udoto said. Elephant-related incidents are more common and tend to happen during dry seasons, when the animals migrate in search of water and food and encounter farmland or settlements, Udoto added.
